Chapter 3

Serena's POV

My jaw dropped. "So you'd really butcher your own kid for some bastard?"

Shit! The original plan was for Viktor to pick us up tonight. I thought hacking the compatibility data would buy me time, but these assholes were ready for everything.

"I told you, Tommy's my son too!" Arthur lost his shit. "And what's one kidney anyway? Leo's healthy, he'll bounce back fast. It won't hurt him!"

"So what?" I held Leo closer. "Over my dead body! Arthur, in all of New York you can't find ONE kidney donor?"

"Tommy can't wait!" Arthur was practically foaming at the mouth. "Doc says three days, tops!"

"So you sacrifice Leo? It all comes down to playing favorites!"

"SHUT UP!" Arthur snapped, his fake mask finally cracking. "Fine, I play favorites! So what? Tommy's been treated like shit his whole life for being a bastard! I owe him this!"

He paused, then kept going: "You think I married you for love? If you weren't so easy to control, you think I'd waste my time on some worthless orphan? Time you paid up!"

There it was.

In my past life, even dying, I thought he just played favorites. Turns out from day one I was nothing but a "worthless orphan" and his "free breeding machine."

Fucking moron.

"Arthur, you're gonna pay for what you just said." I glared at him.

"Hold her down!" Arthur was done playing games.

He waved his hand and four massive bodyguards in black suits charged from the end of the hallway. They came at me like hungry wolves.

"Mommy!" Leo burst into tears, clinging to my legs.

"GET BACK!" I kicked the lead bodyguard square in the kneecap. CRACK—the sound was sickening as he screamed and dropped to his knees.

But I couldn't fight four guys while protecting Leo. Soon the other three had me pinned to the cold marble floor.

"Take Leo to surgery! Prep the anesthesia NOW!" Arthur barked orders.

"Let me go! Arthur! You sick FUCK!" I fought like hell, biting through my lip.

Dr. Smith and his nurses grabbed crying Leo, throwing him on a gurney and racing toward the operating room. Lily followed behind with a twisted victory smile, mouthing silently at me: "You lost."

Viktor, where the FUCK are you?

I fought to break free and run after them, but Arthur grabbed my arm.

"Serena, quit fighting me." Arthur crouched down, slapping the consent form in my face. "Even if you don't sign, Dr. Smith's gonna cut anyway. Just gotta make it look legit. Sign it and I promise Leo will be fine."

"Arthur... I promise you're gonna die worse than anyone." I locked eyes with him.

Time crawled by. The red light above the operating room door flicked on—anesthesia prep signal.

My heart sank. Leo... my baby...

Arthur stood up, straightening his suit: "Soon this'll all be over. When Leo wakes up, he'll thank me for giving him the chance to save his little brother."

I glared at him with pure hatred, despair washing over me. Was I really gonna fail again? Even with a second chance, I still couldn't save Leo? Was I gonna watch that bastard kill my son again?

Just then, a deafening roar came from outside the hospital building.

Not car engines—heavy military choppers tearing through the air! More than one!

"What the hell?" Arthur frowned toward the windows.

Next second, the entire hospital alarm system went nuts. Hallway lights started strobing like crazy.

"BOOM—!"

Ear-splitting explosion. The ten-inch thick bulletproof glass doors on the VIP floor got blown in from outside! Glass shards flew everywhere like a deadly storm, tearing through the hallway.

The bodyguards pinning me down didn't even have time to react before precision rubber bullets slammed into their chests. They screamed and flew backward, smashing into walls and going limp.

I scrambled up from the floor, wiping blood from my mouth, staring through the smoke-filled corridor.

Heavy, synchronized military boots crunched over broken glass.

Dozens of fully armed elite mercenaries poured in like a flood, instantly sealing every exit. Assault rifle laser sights painted Arthur and Dr. Smith head to toe in red dots.

Arthur was forced to the ground by two mercs, screaming in terror: "Who... who ARE you people?! This is New York! This is terrorism!"

Nobody answered.

The mercenaries automatically split apart, clearing a path.

A tall figure stepped through the wreckage.

Blond hair, ice-blue eyes, handsome enough to be a magazine model. But right now that perfect face was written with murder.

Viktor Rockwell.

Underground king of North America, current head of the Rockwell empire. My brother who'd practically torn apart the earth looking for me.

He stopped in front of Arthur, looking down at the trembling piece of shit, lightly kicking Arthur's face with his boot.

"So YOU'RE the one trying to harvest my nephew's organs?"